In the 2017 Division 3 boys hockey tournament, Swampscott was the top seed and Lowell ended its season.
Fast forward to a year. Senior defenseman Dom Codispoti made sure his team will keep playing after he whipped a shot in from the left point with 1:59 left in a tie game to insure a 3-2 win over the Red Raiders. That goal sends the No. 1 seed Lowell home for the spring.
The win sets up a true North Shore spectacle, as the Big Blue will skate into the sectional semifinals for a game against Lynn Thursday (time still to be determined) against the Lynn Jets, who beat Shawsheen earlier Sunday, 3-2, overtime.
Codispoti said he and his mates did not get down when they fell behind 2-0 after one period.
“We didn’t want to have our season end, and we wanted some revenge against those guys after last year,” Codispoti said. “Nobody got down, I had a shot, took it , and we’re still playing.”
Codispoti was whistled off with a penalty with 6:40 left in regulation, but the Blue stepped up and killed the penalty setting up some late game thrills for Swampscott.
Goalie Dan Johnson made 26 saves in the win, closing the door after two got by him in the first period.
“Nobody liked how last year ended, and we made sure this year didn’t end that way,” the goalie said. “This team never quit, I love this team.”
Steve Santanello’s goal tied the game at two, when he scored with 12.5 seconds left in period two. Sophomore Conor Donovan got Swampscott on the board earlier in the period.
Casey Williamson, Brett Benoit, Jack Poska, Donovan and Santanello had assists.
“We know exactly how they (Lowell) feels right now, because that was us a year ago, and this feels a whole lot better,” Blue coach Gino Faia said.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Andover 76, Marblehead 51
At North Andover, Marblehead’s run in the Division 2 North tournament ended Sunday in the sectional quarterfinal.
“We didn’t play well early,” said Magicians coach Mike Giardi. “We didn’t put our kids in the best position offensively or defensively. We were out of sorts.”
Marblehead only scored 17 points in the first half, “and when you only score 17, it’s going to be quite a challenge to come back from that.”
To his team’s credit, Giardi said, the Magicians put together a much better second half, “but we just couldn’t cut into (North Andover’s) lead,” Giardi said.
‘Every time we’d try to go on some kind of a run, they’d go on one too. We never could get back in synch.”
Derek Marino led Marblehead with 15 points. Giardi also said his other seniors, Dan Doherty, Shamus Keaney, Dewey Millet, Will Brooks, Ted Mayle, Sam Bernstein and Skylar Chardon made significant contributions.
Pope John 63, Winthrop 59
The season ends for the No. 9 Vikings, who fell just short of an upset on the road at No. 1 Pope John in the Division 4 North quarterfinals.
Pope John led 37-29 with 2:50 to play in the third quarter, but a late Vikings rally forced the two teams to go into overtime deadlocked at 56-56.
The Tigers sealed the win with a string of clutch free throws in overtime.
Tayjuan McKenzie led Winthrop with 21 points, while Devin Puslifer scored 19 and Chrono Washington added 10.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Winthrop coach David Sacco said. “No one gave us a chance after Pope John beat us twice pretty convincingly. I told my guys after the game that nobody believed in us. Everything I asked of them over the last two days in practice, everything we went over and cleaned up, they executed beautifully.”
GIRLS HOCKEY
Woburn 6, Winthrop 1
The No. 15 Winthrop girls saw their season end at undefeated No. 2 Woburn in the Division 1 first round.
“We started very slow and were on our heels early,” Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci said. “Woburn has a very good team. They have a lot of skill, they’re well coached and strong.”
Woburn took a 1-0 lead early on with a goal from its leading scorer, Georgia Santullo. Winthrop’s McKayla Norris tied things at 1-1 shortly after but that was all the scoring the Vikings has for the evening.
Woburn closed the first period with two more goals to take a 3-1 lead and never looked back, en route to the 6-1 final.
“It was a great season,” Martucci said. “We got 13 wins from a very young group.”
